CHROs in private equity portfolio companies sit on a mountain of HR data—talent metrics, engagement trends, turnover analysis, recruiting funnel performance, compensation benchmarks, capability assessments, workforce planning insights, and more. But possessing the data isn’t what earns credibility with your CEO.
Distilling it is.
The real value comes from filtering HR data into capital you can use to influence decision-making in the C-suite.
To do this well, CHROPEs must understand the three distinct ways executives use data:
data-driven, data-informed, and data-enabled decision making.
They sound similar, but each carries a different level of reliance on data, intuition, and executive judgment.
Let’s break them down in a way that aligns to the CHROPE’s world.
1. Data-Driven Decision Making: When Data Is the Decider
This approach relies solely on empirical evidence. The numbers speak for themselves, and decisions follow the data—full stop.
Example:
Your TA team A/B tests two sourcing channels. One yields a 40% higher qualified-to-interview ratio with statistical significance. You immediately shift budget to the higher-performing channel.
Characteristics:
- Heavily quantitative; decisions anchored in metrics
- Reduces subjective opinions and bias
- Often uses algorithms, dashboards, or predictive models
- Human judgment plays a minimal role
When it works for a CHROPE:
Workforce analytics, compensation modeling, recruiting funnel optimization, turnover prediction—any metric where the numbers are clear and reliable.
2. Data-Informed Decision Making: The Blend of Data + Human Expertise
This is the most common decision mode for executive HR leaders.
Data is a major input, but not the only one. Intuition, context, and judgment still matter.
Example:
A hiring decision combines interview scorecards, psychometrics, performance data, and qualitative manager feedback. Data supports the decision, but doesn’t solely determine it.
Characteristics:
- Combines quantitative and qualitative intelligence
- Human judgment interprets data within real-world context
- Leverages experience and intuition
- Balances facts, risk, and situational nuance
When it works for a CHROPE:
Leadership selection, performance calibration, employee relations, succession planning, culture decisions.
3. Data-Enabled Decision Making: Using Data to Strengthen—but Not Dictate—Choices
Here, data is a support tool. It informs the conversation, validates assumptions, and highlights risks—but does not override strategic or brand considerations.
Example:
You design a new employer brand campaign. Candidate preference data shapes messaging, but you still weigh brand voice, CEO expectations, and market positioning.
Characteristics:
- Data enhances decisions without controlling them
- Highlights opportunities and red flags
- Validates hypotheses and improves clarity
- Allows full flexibility in final executive judgment
When it works for a CHROPE:
Culture initiatives, DEI programming, change management, employer brand, leadership development strategy.
How a CHROPE Uses All Three to Earn CEO Trust
The most effective CHROs in PE-backed companies flex all three approaches interchangeably. Your CEO doesn’t only want numbers—they want smart synthesis:
- When to lean entirely on empirical insights
- When to balance data with experience
- When to use data as a guide without letting it dictate
Your credibility skyrockets when you can clearly articulate:
- Here’s the data.
- Here’s what it tells us.
- Here’s what it doesn’t tell us.
- Here’s my judgment based on both.
CEOs trust CHROs who understand data but don’t hide behind it—leaders who can distill complexity into actionable clarity.
